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Halo 2
Bungie
for the Xbox console</div>
Note: If you do not want to take the time to read this entire review scroll down to the bottom of the post and view the SUMMARY to get right to the point.
Well, where to start?
I was one of the ones who immediately became transfixed in this game within the moment of my first playing it. It had nice graphics (for the time), powerful weapons, and absolute massacre-iffic multiplayer carnage. What was not to like?
Every day, my buddies and I would gather together and have a system-link showdown, flaying each other alive for well over periods of four hours at a time...it was great...
Until, I opened my eyes.
Really, it started to dawn on me that maybe the multiplayer was a bit unbalanced, no problem, I could still win...if'n my opponent didn't cherry pick me with a Sword ('scuse the Halo lingo, i'll cover that in a bit).
Now, on to the analysis...
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Graphics
Perhaps the best part of the game, these graphics shimmer, with breathtaking reflections and open airspace aplenty. It is also worth noting weapon details such as the ammunition counter on the Battle Rifle that displays the amount of rounds remaining in the clip. When going through the game for the first time, the casual gamer should easily settle right into H2's graphical package.
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However, this section is not without its letdowns. Many reocurring glitches (Super Jump anyone?) contribute general frustration to the game, with such nice things as getting stuck in walls and the aforementioned Super Jumps. Also, perhaps one of the largest issues with the game is the general repetition of it's indoor Campaign levels. :wallbash:
You will literally feel as though you're slugging through the same city over and over again. The texture "Steel" is
way too overused for environments, and the extremely limited amount of outdoor encounters don't exactly make up for the drab urban landscapes. My final irritation with Halo 2's visual package is that they have ommitted the coveted "smack the carcasses and watch blood splatter everywhere" convention found in Halo: Combat Evolved; half a point off just for this :bleh: .
But to be fair, I was impressed with the artwork used to construct the various skies found throughout Halo 2.
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8.5/10</div>
Sound
Seemingly another forte, explosions echo throughout your stereo system and the constant hammering of bullets rattles your teeth. The voice acting used in the game is decent, though the character dialogue and sloppy plot isn't the most pleasant thing to greet your eardrums. I especially like the resounding "smack" when corpses are meeleed, it's a satisfying experience!
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7.9/10 </div>
Control
No surprise here, the Xbox controller is more than suited for the job, with customizable sensitivity levels and even styles for the poor left-handed players of the world, this scheme simply delivers. Even though I personally do not like the game,
I must admit that it is one of the best contolling console games i've ever played. Half a point off, though, for the akward placement of the "crouch" function (you must click in the left analog stick).
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9.4/10</div>
Gameplay
*Takes deep breath* Alright, here comes the part that absolutely ruins the entire experience.
The gameplay in Halo 2 is most liken to that of Goldeneye: Rogue Agent...in fact, it's
exactly the same. I'm not sure which game was inspired by which, but for such a novel concept as Halo 2, this mode of play just doesn't work.
The primary actions in the game are as follows: shoot, wait for shields to recharge, shoot, reload, wait for shields to recharge. Rinse. Repeat. Over and over and over again. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if, like I mentioned before in the Graphics heading, the environments just weren't
so damned boring.
Also, Bungie changed the shield system so that both your health
and your shields recharge. So what does this mean for the gamer? Frusturation, because this concept applies to your enemies as well. For example, if I am attempting to bring down a Hunter (a very powerful in-game enemy), I can't attack and retreat because his health will recharge just as mine will. I have to kill him all at once, or not at all...
This is the exact same for the multiplayer, and is ultimately what makes it unplayable past the first 2 weeks of receiving the game. I could go on and on about other extremely cheap multiplayer conventions, such as the intant-kill sword, shotgun, and the gargantuanly overpowered sniper rifle. But I will simply sum it up as this: Weapons = Unbalanced.
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4.5/10</div>
Summary
All in all, this game delivers greatly in the sound, graphics, and contol department, but sorely lacks in the most important department of all: gameplay. To me, this is a travesty because I am a firm believer in gamplay first, graphics last. But with all the hype (Too much hype. WAY too much hype. :angry: :wallbash: ) such as this game receiving Game of the Year countless times and occaisionally being named the greatest game ever made, I am forced to look down upon it and see more of it's flaws than it's positives.
This really isn't a
horrible game...it's just incredibly average, overrated, overplayed, and in general writes far too many checks that it just can't cash. If it weren't for these things, i'd probably give it a bit of a higher rating.
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Overall Score: 6.99/10</div>
Agree? Disagree? Think you can make a better review?
Post it below, I really want to hear what the guys at Abandonia think about one of the most mainstream games of all time.
~Iowa